Need some help getting started!

[wannerbuilt]

Hey everyone! I am new to the forum. Just want to say WOW!! All the information is fantastic and is very helpful! But with all this information I still am having trouble finding where and how to get started in competitive shooting. I do have an ar15 and shotgun and soon to have an m&p pro 9 ported. My rifle is a black rain ordinance upper and lower 16in stainless barrel, magpul stock and grip, geissele ssa trigger group, bcm charging handle, salient arms bcg, odin works 15.5 forend, carbon arms gas hog break and topped with an eotech just so you know where Im at. I just moved to northern Colorado. Any help would be appreciated.

[Sarge]

Sounds like you are off to a great start! Very nice collection so far! You will find the members here to be super helpful and friendly.

[wannerbuilt]

Thanks! That seems to be the case the more I read! Everyone is so helpful!

[littlehendrick]

Enjoy Fort Collins! I went to college at CSU, and spent 2007-2013 up in Foco. I enjoyed the Front Range Gun Club in Loveland. It is a nice indoor range, and they allow you to do holster work once they make sure you are safe. I miss having such a nice range up here in AK. They also had a few pistol and rifle matches at the same range.

I hadn't started shooting USPSA while I was in Colorado, so I am sorry I can not direct you better there. I think a few people in Jensen Arms in Loveland shoot USPSA, but I could be wrong. If they don't, they probably know the people who do.

The Pawnee grasslands area is great when you get far enough out. You can set up targets however you want, and make your own stages. Read up on where you can and can not shoot though! The Rangers that patrol through the area are very nice as long as you are polite and are only shooting correct targets (clays, paper or steel).

[TonytheTiger]

Welcome aboard! From the sounds of it your looking to get into the most awesome sport man has ever seen? You may already know this but the ported M&P will bump you up to open class, which is a pretty deep end of a pool to learn to swim. Or at least a very expensive end of a pool.

[wannerbuilt]

Thank you guys for the support! Foco is so great! I was just at the front range gun club 2 days ago! Very nice place. I never thought of setting up targets and making my own stage at the grass lands. I will definitely be doing that when the snow starts to disappear! Well maybe I will be getting two m&ps haha that or I was also thinking glock 17. I just dont like the grip on the flocks but I will be trimming it down and doing a stipple job to it. When shooting uspsa and such do they also put you into another class for aftermarket triggers? Thanks again for the support!

[JASracer]

There is a range out east of Fort Collins near AULT. Look up eastern Colorado USPSA on the web, don't know the actual web address. You will find a site that will list several clubs and ranges and a schedule of matches (IDPA, USPSA, 3 Gun, etc.). There is a private range in Cheyenne, WY that shoots IDPA also. They did one 3 gun match last year and it was a big success, from what I hear.

Read the USPSA rules. Very high probability that it could bump you into the limited class. Several of the people I shoot with, shoot limited with Glocks and SA XDm's.

[ericjhuber]

The rules for multi-gun/3 Gun still sort of depend on where you are shooting. It's increasingly popular so there seem to be more and more options for people interested in that game. As has been suggested, make sure you understand the rules of the games you are going to play before you start spending money on equipment.

You'll also find people who play these games are very helpful when it comes to offering advice and allowing you to test out their equipment. Your local club(s) will provide you with a wealth of knowledge on the games that are available and the equipment choices and there are a lot of choices to make in multi-gun type games.

The divisions are a big deal when it comes to these games. In your case, you're going to want to make sure that you have three firearms that are division appropriate once you pick one.

If you are planning on picking up another striker fired pistol (and now we're getting closer to knowing what I'm talking about...), you've got plenty of quality options. If you dig your ported M&P, Smith and Wesson will be happy to sell you a division appropriate M&P for your shooting pleasure. I shoot a Glock 34 for USPSA Production and I like it just fine, but I'd be more than happy to find myself nabbing, for example, a S&W or a Springfield off a raffle table (because I can't imagine a universe where I shoot good enough to actually win a pistol...).

[mlmiller1]

The match directors for rm3g live near denver. I think they shoot close. I dont know how far away from you that is but you might contact riggerjj or benellichick on here & ask them questions. They are 3 gun experts!

[wannerbuilt]

Thanks for the support! I did some digging and some talking to a guy at our local gunstore, which is amazing! I found a website that has all of the idpsa shoots in eastern Colorado so I am very excited for that at the moment. I just need to pick up my gun. Im not 100% positive on if im going ported or not. I might just shoot the pro and in the future get the ported m&p or send it out. At the moment I think idpsa will be a very good stepping stone to my trip into 3 gun. I don't fully understand the rules yet but I do have them downloaded to my phone so I have plenty of reading material. I guess a question I have is should I go with 9mm or 40? because of the major vs miner deal. Thanks again! I hope to be shooting shortly!

[littlehendrick]

I would say it depends on what category you want to shoot. The biggest issue is if you decide to get the ported pistol. Ports are NOT allowed in IDPA, and would put you in Open for USPSA. I am not sure where you would end up in 3gun.

9 vs 40:
Do you currently handload? Also, this ties back to what category you want to shoot. If shooting Production in USPSA, you get no benefit from running full power 40 ammo. This is also true for IDPA, SSP and ESP divisions are both scored on a minor power factor. If you wish to shoot in the Limited category for USPSA, the 40 will have more points on B, C, and D zone's, at the expense of magazine capacity and higher recoil.

[ericjhuber]

I guess a question I have is should I go with 9mm or 40? because of the major vs miner deal. Thanks again! I hope to be shooting shortly!

That gets back into picking which game you want to play and what divisions you want to shoot.

For example, if you are going to decide to shoot 3-gun matches and/or USPSA Production then you are going to want to explore your 9mm options.

Ported barrels aren't legal in USPSA Production, however. However, when it comes to ported Glocks (AKA "C" models), the USPSA Production list has this phrase that states: "C models are allowed providing that the barrel is non-ported and the other requirements are met." I don't see that same language with Smith and Wesson pistols, but I do see it for Springfield. So you'd want to get a ruling from USPSA (Troy McManus is the NROI director and he's very quick to respond to email on these sort of questions) before you'd consider making any modification to that Smith and Wesson ported pistol you have coming in if you decided to try and make it Production Legal by putting in a non-ported barrel.

If you want to shoot something like USPSA Limited, then you start pondering your 40 cal options.

[wannerbuilt]

Awesome! I do not "currently" hand load but plan on it later on. I guess you guys answered all my questions I kinda had and I think I might go with just the m&p pro non ported in 9mm and later on I can always get a storm lake barrel and get it magnaported, ill just take it slow in the idpsa and gofrom there. Thanks again everyone for your responses!!! Im very happy that I have found this forum!! You guys are the best!!

[mulrick]

Yeah Stay away from a Ported barrel... in fact I would shoot one before you even think about it... they can be... well... pointless.

If you shoot open with an optic and thumb rests and red dots and all that jazz, then comps are great.

However if you do just about anything else with a pistol... they are kinda pointless. The suck for HD or carry because the blast at night makes vision and follow up shots much tougher. The only time I might consider it is on a super compact carry pistol intended for a couple super close range shots. I know some departments that carried the ported Glocks, but most of those have switched these days.

[wannerbuilt]

yea that was one thing about having a ported pistol or something compensated is that I will most likely be carrying it also so the flash at night can be blinding!